Valverde blows save in toughest moment of career

Oakland Athletics Coco Crisp gets a pie to the face from Josh Reddick after he hit single to score Seth Smith and win the game 4-3 in the ninth inning of Game 4 of an American League division baseball series against the Detroit Tigers in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jose Valverde sat at his locker in disbelief, head down and elbows on his knees. His Tigers teammates ate in stunned silence.

Valverde, Detroit’s demonstrative closer who saved all 49 of his chances last year, blew the save with his team on the cusp of a second straight trip to the AL championship series and the Oakland Athletics rallied once more to force a Game 5 in their AL division series with a 4-3 win Wednesday night.

Coco Crisp lined a game-ending single to right field in the ninth as the A’s found one more furious rally to stay alive.

Valverde called it the toughest moment yet in his stellar career.

Advertisement

“I threw all my pitches,” Valverde said. “You’ve got to give credit to the guys over there. You make one mistake, that’s it. There’s nothing I can do. It’s over.”

Al Alburquerque patted him on the behind. Justin Verlander, who will pitch the deciding game Thursday night, offered his support of Valverde along with most everyone else in the room.

Valverde has long been manager Jim Leyland’s reliable ninth-inning man — and he so hopes to get the ball again.

In fact, Leyland found himself defending Valverde a day earlier, saying it would be hard for the hard-throwing right-hander not to go downhill after his remarkable run in 2011.

“When we lose a game like this and I need three outs for my team to clinch, it hurts,” Valverde said. “This is the toughest moment in my whole career.”

Now, the Tigers will turn the ball over to their ace to lead them in Game 5.

“Valverde’s been great for us. Those things happen,” Verlander said. “Obviously you don’t want them to happen on a night like tonight. It did.”